"Oh my dear aunt, this Stone Mountain is just too hard to climb!"

Unable to hold back his complaints, Su Ran found the rocks were sleek and edgeless, impossible to grip. Had it not been for his Treading on Air Technique, he would have given up long ago.

"Huh? Why are these rocks arranged so oddly?"

As Su Ran continued to ascend, he easily noticed something special about the place. The rocks grew larger the higher up he went; they’d already reached nearly two meters in height, and he hadn’t even reached the summit yet.

"There must be something fishy here!"

With his suspicion piqued by the strangeness of Stone Mountain, Su Ran’s spirits lifted, and he quickened his pace until he reached the mountaintop.

"Oh Lord, this rock is just too big!"

Su Ran was shocked to find that the rocks at the top were nearly five meters tall, which made him consider turning back. He felt it wouldn’t be as simple as with the dead wood before; the dangerous aura exuding from the stones made him feel suffocated.

"Oh well, let’s test it out first!"

Having steadied himself and mustered his courage, Su Ran then summoned his avatar. He made the Dark Bone Lion take action, reasoning that even if it couldn’t win and perished, he wouldn’t be sorry to lose it.

"Roar!"

The Dark Bone Lion made an impressive entrance, roaring lowly and directly using its Charge Skill.

However.

Just as the Dark Bone Lion was about to strike, something unexpected happened.

"Boom!"

The boulder rose from the ground, and pieces of rock assembled into a giant arm, which firmly grasped the incoming Dark Bone Lion within its palm. Immediately thereafter, the other three limbs came together to form a towering and authoritative Stone Giant BOSS, exuding unmatched dominance.

The Dark Bone Lion didn’t stand a chance in the hands of the Stone Giant; within seconds, it was mercilessly tortured to death, its bones crushed to dust. Su Ran could not bear to witness the fate of his avatar.

"What a ferocious BOSS!"

With a shout of alarm from Su Ran, the appearance of the Stone Giant BOSS dashed his hopes. He instantly fled upward, desperate to avoid the BOSS’s attention.

"Haha, so the BOSS can’t fly! I’m saved!"

Seeing that the Stone Giant did not follow and didn’t even bother to give Su Ran a glance, a silent relief washed over him. He was thankful that the Stone Giant BOSS hadn’t targetted him for a deadly attack from the outset; otherwise, killing him would have been as simple as swatting a fly!

After losing its target, the Stone Giant did not dissipate but instead jumped down from the mountaintop. The impact was so massive that even the ground trembled.

"Uh-oh, those players are going to be out of luck."

From his high vantage point, Su Ran saw the Stone Giant create thunderous sounds with every step as it ran, but the players didn’t take it seriously and continued their fervent assault.

Once it locked onto a target for its malice, the Stone Giant began a mad dash toward the distance. The scene resembled that of a high-speed train plowing through everything in its path, crushing any obstacles with brutal force.

"Such a pity for those boats; once these people die, the boats will probably disappear too, right?"

Su Ran was well aware of the system’s quirks; rented items wouldn’t just be left for another player to pick up without paying a penalty fee—that would be too generous!

As Su Ran predicted, the group of players stood no chance against the BOSS, all of them meeting a gruesome end without a single one escaping. The boats docked at the shore vanished the moment the players died, with not the slightest room for negotiation.

"It’s time to leave."

Facing this ferocious boss, Su Ran didn’t even have the courage to oppose it, and without waiting for the Stone Giant to return to the mountain peak, he tore up the teleport scroll and returned to his territory, Skeleton Village.

"Phew, it turns out this new year’s event isn’t as simple as I thought; every Pet Island poses a threat of death. It looks like in this event, dangers and opportunities coexist, and if you want to get a compatible pet, you have to be ready to die!"

Only then did Su Ran understand the traps laid by the system, which were literally killer without any liability!

"Even though I know it’s a trap by the system, I still want to fall for it. There’s no helping it, pets are too tempting, and it’s worth the risk!"

...

Imperial City.

A player in a black robe emerged from the Sewers and hurried to the new year event NPC. Without lingering, he teleported away from there.

"Whoosh!"

Su Ran reappeared in Skeleton Village, hardly believing he could be this successful; in just a few minutes, he had managed to rent the boat!

"The advanced ones are a bit more cost-effective, 300 gold coins a day, with a radar function, no wonder almost every player chooses this model."

As Su Ran recalled the boat purchase options he had seen at the NPC, he noted that although the low and middle-grade boats were cheap, they lacked the radar function, while the luxury models required 3,000 gold coins a day, and the extravagant boats needed 30,000 gold coins a day, completely reshaping his concept of how the wealthy spend their money!

"I’ve got the boat now; time to set off!"

For Su Ran, time was money, and he couldn’t afford to waste it. Without lingering, he plunged into the teleportation formation, opening the channel to the Deep Sea Fish Island.

"Whoosh!"

The white light vanished, and Su Ran appeared in the middle of Deep Sea Fish Island. After checking his coordinates, he ran straight to the beach, eager to experience the thrill of riding in a yacht!

"Splash, splash."

The sea’s surface was constantly troubled by countless boats, the once tranquil waters now unrecognizable.

Arriving at the beach, Su Ran took the Advanced Boat out of his inventory and placed it in the sea, quickly familiarizing himself with the boat’s controls and procedures. Finding it not too difficult, he immediately maxed out the speed.

"Zoom!"

The boat at full speed was like an arrow released from a bow, cutting through the churning waves, speeding towards the open sea.

Su Ran’s extreme maneuvering drew the attention of many players. The waves were too rough for them to dare such madness, and they could only watch as Su Ran disappeared from their sight.

"Haha, no wonder people love racing, this kind of extreme speed, it’s just irresistible!"

Su Ran undeniably had a natural talent for handling boats. Just getting the hang of it, he was bold enough to go wild, maintaining his speed all the way, with waves rising more than a yard behind him, overtaking one player after another. The feeling was exhilarating!

"Madman, this guy is definitely insane!"

"Holy shit, how can he go so fast, did this kid buy the luxury version?"

"Showing off like that. I hope he hits a reef and dies a horrible death!"

"Nine out of ten accidents are caused by speed, this guy in the black robe probably won’t last long."

"Hahaha, I can’t miss this great show, chase him!"

These players who were overtaken by Su Ran weren’t about to let him off easily. While they insulted him, they also wanted to see him make a fool of himself.